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Spotted these days on everything from quiet cul-de-sacs to bustling main streets, golf carts are no longer just for the fairway. They’re now street legal in many communities as families ditch their minivans and SUVs to run quick errands or ramble around town.
“A slow-rolling cavalry is conquering America’s public roads,” The Wall Street Journal recently noted.
While four-wheeled carts are changing the way small towns move, not everyone is on board with the craze. In the “r/nashville” Reddit forum, one user recently asked, “When did we decide golf carts were fine for the roads?”
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“This sounds like a ‘rich side of town’ problem,” commented another user.
Yet another person wrote, “I began hearing about them referred to as NEVs — ‘neighborhood electric vehicles’ — in 2008 as a greener way to reduce traffic for short distances.”
“When wealthy people started to consider them fashionable,” said a different user.
One Redditor wrote, “They are a plague in my neighborhood.”
But another person said, “Golf carts are far safer than pickup trucks (especially lifted), SUVs and even sedans. Basically, golf carts are safer than cars for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.”
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A user on a different Reddit forum, “r/homeowners,” asked, “What’s the deal with golf carts and UTVs (utility task vehicle)?”
The person shared that his or her neighborhood has changed over the years and said that it’s “now starting to get what I would call more ‘suburban’ people.”
The post continued, “I’m not judging. I just don’t understand it. We don’t have a golf course anywhere nearby. I feel like this is something that is maybe more common in the further-out suburbs.”
It went on, “I’ll often see them driving through the neighborhood or even on the larger streets nearby where the speed limit is 40mph. Sometimes it’s teens/tweens driving them. Is this a common trend?”
“I just don’t understand it. We don’t have a golf course anywhere nearby.”
A different Redditor said, “Fairly common here as well, especially in nicer subdivisions with community pools [and a] nearby park.”
Another user asked, “Maybe it’s becoming like a status symbol?”
A different person defended the use of the carts.
“I have mine street legal and run errands on the weekends or cruise around on it when I’m bored,” the person wrote. “It’s a fun and exhilarating machine that gets good gas mileage, but can also shred going up mountains or in the snow.”
The City of Greenville in South Carolina recently reminded residents about a new state law regulating golf carts.
The public service announcement on its X account read, “If you own a golf cart in #GreenvilleSC, a new state law is in effect. Registration, driver requirements and usage rules have been updated.”
Under the updated law, golf carts are only permitted on roads with a speed limit of 35 miles per hour or less and must remain within four miles of the owner’s residence.
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Greenville isn’t alone in aiming to manage the rise of golf cart traffic.
In Peach Tree, Georgia — a city of just over 38,000 residents — more than 11,000 golf carts are registered, according to the town’s website.
Golf carts and go-karts caused 50 traffic crashes, resulting in three deaths in Michigan in 2023, according to the state’s Traffic Crash Reporting System.
Various counties in Michigan enacted ordinances and implemented public laws to ensure the safety of people riding in carts.
The state does not allow operation 30 minutes before sunset or 30 minutes after sunrise. Also, drivers are unable to weave between traffic, according to a Michigan law.
Carts are also not allowed to be driven on sidewalks.
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